Remus has some quite dark, negative thoughts in this chapter
Remus did not have a brother – at least not one that he knew anything about. He supposed that his mother might well have re-married and produced a few nice, non-magic, non-monster children. That didn't really feel like his business; he'd accepted his lot in life long ago.
James too, was an only child, and this went at least some way to explaining why he was so cocksure and demanding. Sirius talked about Potter's parents as though they were perfect saints, but they had clearly spoiled their son rotten. Peter had a sister who was a good deal older than him and had already left Hogwarts. She'd been in Hufflepuff, but Peter didn't talk about her very much. She was studying at a muggle university, which was apparently the height of bad taste.
So perhaps none of them really understood what was happening between the two Black brothers, which might have been why they didn't take it very seriously. It began the morning after the sorting. During breakfast, Regulus had received a gift from his parents; a brand-new eagle owl. This was his reward for getting into the right house – which they found out because Severus gleefully read the letter aloud within earshot of the Gryffindor table. Sirius stared at his porridge, not rising to the bait, but Remus looked over at Regulus and saw that he was blushing hard, trying to snatch the letter away from Snape.
"Didn't your parents confiscate your owl again?" Peter asked, bluntly. Sirius gave a sharp nod,
"Said I can have it back when I remember my duty to the family and started acting like a 'true Black'. I don't care, I don't need an owl."
"What exactly is your family duty, again?" James mused, loudly, so that the cackling Slytherins could hear them, "Go 'round with creeps like Snivellus and Mulciber? Marry your cousin?"
Sirius' finally looked up at James, his expression half grateful, half mischievous,
"Oh yeah," he replied, conversationally, just as loud as James. Snape, Regulus and most of the other Slytherins who had been laughing were now quiet, narrowing their eyes at the two Gryffindor boys. Peter edged away, slightly. "Inbreeding and creeping are key aspects of my noble heritage. And picking on kids smaller than me, of course; cheating, lying and cursing my way into power..."
"Well, mate, I'm sorry to break it to you," James repled jovially, "But it doesn't sound like you're a Black at all."
"Goodness," Sirius' hand flew to his face in mock surprise, "What on earth am I?"
"It's obvious," James shrugged, "You're a Marauder."
Sirius laughed, as did most of the Gryffindors sitting nearby.
Remus saw Severus' hand reach for his wand, and quickly grabbed his own in preparation, running
through a list of spells in his head, trying to come up with one that would stop him quickest. But Regulus nudged Snape with his elbow, muttering; It's fine. Remus was sure he was the only Gryffindor who heard it.
"Come on," Snape sneered, "We'd better get away from all this filth if we want to keep our breakfast down."
This only made Sirius and James laugh harder, and Snape swept from the room, followed by Mulciber and a new first year called Barty Crouch. Regulus held back, glancing nervously between his new friends and his brother. The new owl sat perched on his crooked elbow, surveying the scene with an imperious, condescending look. He edged towards Sirius.
"You can borrow it, if you want." Regulus said, quietly, "I never asked her to send me anything, but you know what she's like."
"Yeah," snorted Sirius, "I know."
They both looked at each other for a while, and Remus couldn't tell if they were staring each other down, or trying to find the words to say something very difficult.
"Look, I'm sorry, ok – you knew I'd end up in Slyth—" Regulus started, but was quickly interrupted by Sirius getting quickly to his feet.
"I don't want your owl." He said, stiffly, looking right through his brother, "If I need to send a letter, I'll borrow James'."
With that, he pushed past Regulus and made to leave. James, Remus and Peter hurriedly got up and followed him. Remus glanced back at Regulus, who looked very pale and very cold.
Remus didn't think about Regulus very much after that – the line in the sand had been drawn, and it was their duty as marauders to support Sirius. Besides, they were all much too busy once lessons began.
Remus threw himself into his studies this time, in a complete reversal of his behaviour the previous September. He read along eagerly, answered questions in class and completed his homework as soon as it was set. In everything except potions, he was a model student. He had never forgotten what he had read the year before, about people with his problem. They did not do well, once they'd left school. Those stupid enough to sign the register were excluded from almost any skilled wizarding work. He would have to be the best of the best, and even that might not be enough, but he had six more years to try.
There was another element to his academic aspirations – Sirius. Well, Sirius and James, really, but most importantly Sirius. Remus didn't doubt that Sirius was his friend, exactly – but he did doubt that Sirius truly saw him as an equal. He railed against the Black family's beliefs in blood purity, but at the same time often made snide remarks about Peter's squib heritage. This was always behind Peter's back, and Remus dreaded to think what Sirius was saying about him.
Remus had learnt during his very first term at Hogwarts that being a 'half-blood' meant that he was slightly less trusted than other wizards. The Slytherins, in particular, targeted students with any kind of muggle heritage – Marlene McKinnon, whose father was a muggle, had perfected the bat bogey hex before anyone else in their year group, as a means of defence. Lily Evans was protected from torment whenever Snape was nearby, but it was clear that plenty of the students thought that she was rather full of herself, considering the circumstances of her birth.
